530 FLIGHT International, 26 September ]g^
AIR CO E R C E
British Eagle
WITH typical resilience Eagle have fully recovered from their
traumatic BOAC-Cunard experiences, and are all set to challenge
BEA. Competition on Britain's main internal air routes will be
introduced for the first time ever on the evening of Sunday, Nov
ember 3, when British Eagle—as they are now known—will
inaugurate a daily service to Glasgow. The next day, November 4,
the programme gets into swing with daily services on the main trunk
routes linking London with Edinburgh and Belfast. Aircraft will
be Britannia 310-series, of which five (plus an option on two) are
being acquired on hire-purchase from BO AC. They are fitted with
14 first-class and 87 tourist-class seats, and have attractively re-
styled interiors. Eagle were finally licensed to operate these dom
estic routes just under a year ago, but they have not yet done so
because of the claimed non-viability of a one-frequency-a-day
network. They have now decided, as Mr Bamberg says, to "show
willing" regardless of the outcome of their request to the ATLB
for increased frequency.
As soon as the schedules were announced (see opposite page)
reports began to gain currency that BEA had announced a new
timetable "sandwiching" the Eagle departures. These reports may
have originated in the advance BEA winter schedules, which were
released to travel agents before British Eagle's announcement on
September 16. Obviously prepared weeks before, the new BEA
schedule includes a flight to Edinburgh leaving London at the
same time, i.e., 1500hr, and leaving Edinburgh ten minutes after
British Eagle.
Perhaps BEA had got wind in advance of British Eagle's Edin
burgh schedules. The corporation's declared policy is all-out com
petition with the independents, and this presumably precludes
timetabling agreements. Unfortunately, without such agreements a
scramble for the best times tends to go on at the expense of the
airlines and to the inconvenience of the public.
Mr Bamberg said last week that he had "a lot of ideas" for the
Mr Harold Bamberg (right), chairman of British Eagle, has decided to
give names to his Britannias. The first aircraft (G-AOVT, below), re
painted, overhauled and refurnished by BOAC, is named "Enterprise."
Other names—all at one time given to the company's Yorks—include
"Endeavour," "Good Fortune" and "Resolution"
new services, though he would rather not at this stage enlarge on
them. It is believed, however, that these include (1) full meal
service, for example bacon-and-egg breakfast from Glasgow to
London; (2) seat-selection facilities; and (3) trickle-loading
arrangements for passengers, if not at London then at Belfast,
Edinburgh and Glasgow, so that passengers can wait in the aircraft
after checking in rather than in a lounge or a bus. British Eagle are
not contemplating walk-on services at least until they have got the
feel of the new routes for a year or two. Nor is it likely that they
will start a free-gift war. Fares will be the same as BEA's.
Mr Bamberg said last week that he expected to have the ATLB's
decisions on his applications for increased frequency "in the next
few weeks." If these applications were not granted, he was asked
would he have to close down these new once-daily services? "1
hope not, no," Mr Bamberg said; "but we would be able to con
tinue only with difficulty so far as the viablity of domestic route!
as a whole is concerned." He said that British Eagle is "shootinj
for a 60 per cent load factor."
Eventually British Eagle aims to have a fleet of ten Britannias
in addition to the two that have been in service for some time then
are the five (plus two) coming from BOAC and one other from ai
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